Friday, April 23, 2010

Yes, I’ll marry you, my dear, a poem by Pam Ayres.

Post 473 - Pam Ayres MBE is a popular English poet, songwriter and presenter on radio and television. She was born in Oxfordshire in 1947 and when she was 19, she joined the Royal Air Force and was posted to Singapore. Upon her return in 1970, she got her her big break on the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks. She says the Bob Dylan and Lonnie Donegan records her brother played when she was growing up first inspired her to write poetry.

A keen gardener and beekeeper, Pam currently lives in the Cotswolds where she and her husband keep some rare breeds of cattle, as well as sheep, pigs, chickens, and guinea fowl. In England, she's known as "the doyenne of doggerel." However, at her best, she's observant, lightly mocking, gently thought-provoking and never heavy or difficult.

Asked to share something that no one knows about her earlier this year, she confessed: "I filled Janet Weavers fur-lined gloves up with plaster of Paris when I was about 13. I never owned up to it until now. She had to suffer cold hands for a considerable time afterwards."